Nov 16 2010
Tuesday Midday Links: lost ebook sales site gains momentum
I’m not familiar with Chelsea Handler but apparently she has a huge platform and Grand Central Publishing is giving her an even larger one. Starting in May 2011, GCP will be publishing books under a Chelsea Handler imprint. The first book is written by Handler’s dog. I presume these books will be ghost written, the details of which are unknown. Under the “Frey O Meter”, I have to ask where this falls with readers.
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A Dutch ereader enthusiast and owner of has started a Dutch version of Lostbooksales at http://www.gemisteboekverkoop.nl/. It seems that this is an idea that has caught the attention of people worldwide. I had an email the other day from a Polish company wanting to utilize the same platform.
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Borders and Sony are selling the Sony Pocket and Sony Touch Edition (both of which have touchscreens) for $149 and $199 respectively. I love the Sony touchscreens but I feel that they are somehow crippled without at least wifi.
Nate at the digital reader has an exhaustive list of what eReaders are on sale on Black Friday. The best deal is clearly the $99 nook at Best Buy.
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Ned is a big fan of Top Gear, a British show about cars. One of the regular features are cars driven by “The Stig” a mysterious white jump suited man who does terrifyingly awesome things with terrifyingly expensive vehicles. The Stig’s identity is a big secret so big that BBC spent over £70,000 trying to keep The Stig’s autobiography from being published by HarperCollins. BBC has failed and “The Man in The White Suit” will be published. I won’t spoil it for you but if you click on the link, Stig’s real identity is revealed in the headline.
One of the problems for Top Gear was that The Stig was seriously underpaid compared to the co hosts and couldn’t exploit his “fame” because of the mystery surrounding who The Stig was.
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Richard Curtis alerts us to the fact that Dorchester’s CEO, John Prebich, has left the company.
I think that it is highly unlikely that Dorchester will make it next year.
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Tess Gerritsen admits to being wrong about ebooks, piracy, and self publishing. It’s a pretty self effacing article and I’m quite impressed with the author.
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Laptop Magazine gave the Nookcolor a pretty positive review. The downside is the closed Android system and the non responsiveness of the touchscreen due to fingerprint build up but everything else is viewed positively.
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Nov 16, 2010 @ 11:23:36
Tess G has impressed the heck out of me. I think I’ll read one of her books – I really appreciate someone who can be wrong.
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Nov 16, 2010 @ 11:45:08
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Nov 16, 2010 @ 12:42:25
Another round of interesting news – thank you for sharing with your readers.
Congrats on Lost Sales being an international success – what’s next? Have you considered “interviewing” the publishers and/or retailers about the issues that bother your readers (agency pricing, geo restrictions, et al). They might actually take your call.
And Tess’s blog was refreshing. I know I have been there, done that. She sets an example that it’s OK to admit mistakes, regroup, and carry on.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 13:12:10
Tess Gerritsen has written some entertaining books, but I’ve been a bit disappointed in her 2007 book, The Mephisto Club, which started off good and then fizzled with a nod at the supernatural. I haven’t finished listening to 2009′s Keepsake although I didn’t stop because the book bored me, I just got distracted by life and never went back.
However I really like her post so I think I’ll give Keepsake another try.
Given her usual subject matter I had a moment of confusion about the post referencing the TV show and slash fans.
Jane, I think the lost sales site was a very good idea. As I commented a few weeks ago, I’ve seen references pop up on several different book sites unrelated to romance. I think it relieves some of the helplessness one can feel when faced with corporations whose entire purposes seems to be to keep me from the book I want to read/listen to.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 13:29:37
Authors as brands. Don’t like.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 13:38:44
Handler is a comedian. Late night E network. Last year? She signed a massive contract. 10 million for 3 years. I think those that are familiar with her will know her dog didn’t do the actual writing.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 14:10:45
I really want the Sony Touch to go down. I love my 505, but think the touchscreen would be nice. Don’t care about wifi, personally, so that’s not an issue.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 14:39:36
@Nicole:
I’m with you Nicole — I love my Sony 505 and I bought my niece a 600 I wouldn’t mind a touchscreen.
Chelsea’s dog is name Chunk and he even has a Twiter account.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 14:46:28
I might have bitten on that if I hadn’t seen the PocketBook LCD Android and eInk devices for $139 and $169 (with wifi) respectively, at regular price, up close and personal:
Nov 16, 2010 @ 15:08:59
Nice article by Tess G. My attitude toward self-publishing has also changed a lot over the past year.
Squee for lostebooksales! I’m excited to see a grassroots campaign take off. I’ve noticed that many of the entries are about price, not geo restrictions, and wonder if that information belongs on a different site. Those are two separate issues. Yes, both are lost sales. But one group has access and another doesn’t.
Nov 16, 2010 @ 15:43:21
I don’t care about wi-fi or 3g either, so will be getting a Sony Touch for myself soon. The $30 off lasts at the Sony site until the 27th (not sure about Borders). I’m going to wait to see if there’s any sort of Black Friday deal in addition to the $30 off. I’ve waited this long, so another 10 days won’t kill me (or so I keep telling myself).
Nov 16, 2010 @ 21:58:21
Oh my god, are you kidding me? It’s been barely two weeks and there are over 800 entries on lostbooksales. Clearly, we’ve tapped into a strong vein of irritation. Thank you so much for doing this!
Nov 17, 2010 @ 03:35:30
The Dutch lostbooksales site only has lost ebook sales. The total of lost sales and the amount on top of the page is a nice idea.
Nov 17, 2010 @ 03:36:49
at the top of the page, I meant to say
Nov 17, 2010 @ 08:10:42
Dorchester always struck me as being behind the times for the digital publishing age. Their ebooks were not widely available, and they weren’t taking advantage of their online bookstore to sell directly to the public. So when they made their digital first announcement, I didn’t see how they could make a successful transition. But maybe their new CEO will prove to be a better fit for digital publishing:
“Taking over the role of Dorchester's CEO will be Mr. Robert Anthony, current CFO & COO of Backe Digital Brand Marketing, who brings with him more than 25 years of experience in financial and operations management.”
http://ereads.com/2010/11/dorchester-press-release.html
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Nov 19, 2010 @ 08:19:25
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Nov 20, 2010 @ 13:29:38
Jane, I am so proud of DA for being so proactive in calling attention to this important issue. Living in a digital age where more information has never been more available to so many, it’s a shocking step backwards that geographic boundaries are limiting and restricting consumer access to books they want.
Congratulations again to you and to all concerned readers using their voice through lostbooksales.